CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Six days off between games may have been a concern for the Toledo Rockets in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal on Friday night.

It appeared that was the case due to their sluggish start. Unfortunately for Eastern Michigan, it didn't last.

The Rockets rebounded from a slow start with timely shooting and solid interior defense to advance to the conference finals following a 59-44 victory over the Eagles.

Rian Pearson led the Rockets with 18 points. Nathan Booth had 13. Glenn Bryant led the Eagles with 11.

The Rockets will face the Western Michigan Broncos at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the MAC Championship. A victory means the Rockets get an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Rockets haven't been to the dance since 1980. The Broncos and Rockets split during the regular season.

The Broncos defeated the Akron Zips, 64-60, in overtime.

A victory by the Eagles would have kept an Ohio team out of the finals for the first time since 1995.

The Rockets hadn't played in close to a week because of a triple bye and direct placement in the semifinals due to winning the second seed.

That could have meant rust issues, but it didn't for the Rockets as they led 39-36 with 10:13 left. Scoring became an issue for the Eagles, but their bump-and-grind style of play kept them close. But it wasn't enough as the Rockets extended their lead to double digits. The Eagles were behind by double digits in all three tournament games, but they couldn't overcome this time.

The Rockets were rusty early. They shot close to 35 percent through the first 10 minutes of the first half. Trailing by one, the Rockets went on a quick 11-5 spurt and led 22-17. The Eagles found some early success from 3-point range, but their love of the 3-pointer led to rushed shots and the absence of an inside game.

Pearson caught the hot hand. He scored 15 and shot 6-of-8 from the field.

The Rockets led Eastern Michigan, 32-28, in the first half.

The Eagles had their three-game winning streak snapped. They won two straight tournament games for the first time since 1998, the same year they won the conference tournament title with Cleveland native Earl Boykins leading the charge.

Eastern Michigan split with the Broncos during the regular season. Toledo split with the Broncos in the regular season.